Ceredigion is the least affordable county in all of the UK for first-time buyers to get on the property ladder, according to new research.
Skipton Group’s Home Affordability Index Report has revealed that six local authority areas in Wales are in the 10 least affordable areas of Great Britain for potential first-time buyers.
Ceredigion takes the bottom spot as the least affordable local authority area.
Here only 2.7 per cent of potential first-time buyers can afford the average first-time buyer home.
The remaining five Welsh local authority areas are Powys (2.7 per cent), Pembrokeshire (2.9 per cent), Cardiff (3.0 per cent), Vale of Glamorgan (3.1 per cent), and Monmouthshire (3.3 per cent).
This chronic lack of affordability across Wales is the result of consistently low first-time buyer incomes; for example, Ceredigion has one of the lowest median incomes in Great Britain.
While house prices across Wales are lower than the average in Great Britain, areas like Ceredigion and Powys are relatively high for Wales, creating particularly difficult conditions for those dreaming of getting the keys to their first home in these areas.
In contrast, Scotland dominates the most affordable areas for potential first-time buyers in Great Britain with Aberdeen City taking the top spot. Even though it’s the most affordable, still only 30 in 100 potential first-time buyers in Aberdeen City can secure that first step onto the property ladder. Across Great Britain as a whole, almost 90% of potential first-time buyers cannot afford to get onto the property ladder without additional financial support.
Stuart Haire, Skipton Group CEO, said: “People might expect London and the Southeast to dominate the least affordable areas for first-time buyers looking to get onto the property ladder in Great Britain, so it’s shocking to see Wales feature so heavily.
“The first step onto the property ladder remains by far the hardest but for Welsh first-time buyers, it must feel impossible. Our new data shows just how stark their affordability challenge is, yet it is further exacerbated by the absence of any land transaction tax relief for first-time buyers in Wales.
“But that doesn’t mean it’s much easier for potential first-time buyers in Scotland and England. Across Great Britain, almost 90% of potential first-time buyers cannot afford to buy their own home in their local area without getting any additional help.
“At Skipton, we see first-time buyers doing all they can to be in the best position to afford a home of their own: working hard, saving what they can, and making use of government initiatives designed to help them into their own homes. Despite these endeavours, monumental barriers stand in their way – barriers that can and should be removed.”